Call for Entries: 2023 IODA International Original Design Award

The IODA International Original Design Award (http://www.ioda.com.cn/) is a core intellectual property (IP) initiative vigorously promoted by the IODA International Original Design Alliance. In collaboration with international platform organizations from Europe, the United States, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, and other regions, it aims to draw upon global resources of "premier-level" original creative brands and designers. With an innovative and integrative approach, the award seeks to discover a cohort of designers who embody "advanced design concepts, novel design methodologies, and possess original intellectual property rights," thereby facilitating the global outreach of Chinese original design.

Guided by the principle of "protecting original copyrights" and with the objective of "enhancing the value of creativity," this competition provides designers and design enthusiasts worldwide with an "open, fair, and just" creative platform. It aspires to establish itself as one of China's most significant annual international design brands, enabling more people to appreciate the allure of original design and recognize the importance of original value.  

I. Competition Theme
Design Empowerment

II. Competition Content

(1)"Inheritance & Innovation" Cultural and Creative Design Competition

Tradition has always been the cornerstone of "design empowerment." This section encourages designs rooted in tradition and oriented towards the future, emphasizing the inheritance and innovation of traditional elements through design concepts, forms, materials, craftsmanship, and presentation methods. Participants are encouraged to showcase outstanding applications of traditional cultural elements in contemporary design, highlighting the "empowering" role of design from a historical perspective.

(2)Experimental Design Competition

This section aims to provide designers from home and abroad with an opportunity to explore "design empowerment," examining the direct and indirect contributions that artistic design can make to society, the economy, and culture. Future design should not only be form-based but also catalyze social change, improve economic structures, and preserve cultural traditions under the philosophy of humanistic care. However, achieving these goals requires extensive experimentation. We encourage designers to "experiment for the sake of experimentation" and to boldly explore outstanding designs that "empower society through design."

(3)Invitation Exhibition for Designers from Countries Along the Belt and Road (By Invitation Only)

This section extends the theme of "design empowerment" to nations and regions. It aligns with the objective of "promoting Eastern design wisdom and jointly creating new splendors in design along the Belt and Road" and embodies the Silk Road spirit of "peaceful cooperation, openness and inclusiveness, mutual learning, and mutual benefit." China and countries along the Belt and Road have numerous outstanding cases where design contributes to regional economies and local cultures. This section will invite renowned designers and design teams from China and countries along the Belt and Road to exhibit their excellent works that contribute to local society and culture, fostering design and cultural exchanges between Wenzhou and countries and regions along the Silk Road.

III. Entry Categories
(1) Visual Communication Design: Brand and identity system design; packaging and print design; advertising and poster design; book and publication design; mascot IP design; interactive interface design, and other related visual communication designs.
(2) Digital Media Art Design: Dynamic visual design; virtual reality (VR)/augmented reality (AR) design; game art design; interactive installation art; short films and micro-movies, and other related digital media designs.
(3) Environmental Art and Landscape Design: Public space design; interior design; ecological landscape design; exhibition and stage design, and other related indoor and outdoor environmental art and landscape designs.
(4) Apparel and Fashion Design: Ready-to-wear and haute couture design; modernization of traditional apparel; functional clothing design; costume and conceptual clothing design; apparel and fashion patterns, and other related apparel and fashion designs.
(5) Product Art Design: Consumer electronics design; furniture and home product design; transportation design; social innovation product design, and other related product designs.
(6) Cultural and Creative Design: Cultural and creative product development; digital cultural and creative projects; cultural event planning; traditional craft innovation; intangible cultural heritage element design, and other related cultural and creative designs.
(7) Arts and Crafts Design: Ceramic and glass art; metal craft design; fiber and textile art; woodworking and lacquer art, and other related arts and crafts designs.
(8) Other Categories: Inclusive of innovative practices not covered by the above categories, such as biological design (e.g., mycelium materials), sound art, cross-media performances, and other experimental designs.

IV. Work Specifications
(1) Static Works: Submit 1-3 display boards in the form of flat photographs of physical objects or models, design renderings, etc. Each display board should be in a vertical A3 format (width 297mm × height 420mm), within 10M in size, with a resolution higher than 300dpi; upload in JPG/PNG/JPEG format.
(2) Dynamic Works: Submit in video format, with a size not exceeding 100M, normally within 5 minutes, with an aspect ratio of 16:9 or 2.35:1, and in mp4 format (video encoding: H.264).
(3) Textual Works: Submit one display board in a flat format, requiring a vertical A3 layout (width 297mm × height 420mm), within 10M in size, with a resolution higher than 300dpi, and upload the work in JPG/PNG/JPEG format; additionally, submit the text as an attachment in PDF format, requiring a vertical A4 layout (width 210mm × height 297mm), with no size limit and the main content within 20 pages.

V. Participants
(1) Undergraduate, master's, and doctoral students from domestic and foreign higher education institutions; vocational college students; each team is limited to 1-3 members, with 1-2 advisors.
(2) Practitioners in the design and art industry domestically and internationally, including professional design and art institutions, design and art groups, university teachers, designers, artists, freelance media professionals, and individuals from the art and media industry.

VI. Organizing Institutions
Organizer: IODA International Original Design Award Organizing Committee
Undertaker: Zhejiang High-Level Talent Innovation Federation, IODA International Original Design Alliance, Henan Provincial Professional Photographers Association, China-Europe International Design and Culture Association (CEIDA), Zhejiang Meilian Cultural and Creative Co., Ltd.
Supporting Institutions: China Native Brand Design Research Institute, Nanjing Arts Institute, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, China Academy of Art, Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Huzhou Vocational and Technical College, and other domestic and foreign art and design institutions and design teams.
Supporting Media: Design Discourse ONLINE, Xiang Sai, ART DESIGN RADIO, etc.

VII. Competition Schedule

Online Submission Period: From now until November 30, 2023

Judging Period: Early December 2023

Announcement of Award Winners: To be announced separately

VIII. Award Settings
The proportions of gold, silver, and bronze awards for each competition category are set at 10%, 15%, and 20% respectively (with the numbers rounded to the nearest integer). Additionally, several Excellence Awards, Outstanding Instructor Awards, and Excellent Organizing Unit Awards will also be conferred.

IX. Entry Fees
The organizing committee of the competition does not charge any entry fees; participation is free.

X. Copyright Statement

All works must be original creations by the participants and must not infringe upon the intellectual property rights of others. If any work is found to be fraudulent, plagiarized, etc., upon verification, the participant's eligibility will be immediately revoked or the award withdrawn, and the participating institution/unit will be notified, with the right to pursue further legal liability reserved.
The content of the works should have a positive theme, healthy thoughts, comply with the propaganda work guidelines, and abide by national laws and regulations.
Works that have been publicly released before the issuance of the competition notice, have intellectual property disputes, have received national or corporate funding, involve leaks of secrets, or harm national and people's financial security are not eligible to participate.
Information such as the school, participating team members, and advisors must not appear in the competition works or accompanying documents; any such discovery will be treated as a violation.
Unless otherwise specified, the organizing committee of the competition has non-profit usage rights over the participating works.
Participants are responsible for paying personal income tax on any prize money or subsidies received after winning an award. Failure to pay personal income tax will result in adverse personal impacts, for which the participants will be solely responsible.
Before submitting their works, participants have carefully read the above terms, fully understand them, and agree to them. The final interpretation rights for any matters not covered herein belong to the organizer.
XI. Competition Inquiries

(1) Participating coaching teachers are requested to join the IODA event consultation QQ group: 972856840 (Verification information: IODA consultation) (Scan the QR code below).

(2) Email address of the IODA Organizing Committee: 3694170776@qq.com.